


Tommy Knows: "Salvation"

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Series: Eloquence of a Secret [18]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon-divergence, Angst, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s1e18 - “Salvation", Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Secrets, Tommy Knows!, casework, relationship drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:39:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: Just because Tommy's not in the lair, doesn't mean the drama just stops.





	Tommy Knows: "Salvation"

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, its episodes or its characters.  
> Tag: Season 1, Episode 18 - "Salvation"

**aRRoW**

"L _awyers for John Ni ckel spoke to the press today. They say they're pleased the DA declined to indict their client on charges stemming from the recent fire in one of Nickel's buildings..."_

Tommy was already nodding off to the morning news broadcast on the couch in the family room. His pain meds, coupled with a nightmare riddled night of tossing and turning had not done his psyche any favours. It had been a recurring one; it was storming and he killed Helena with his throwing knives before she could kill Oliver, but when he went over to the body and turned it over, it was his father in his Dark Archer Hood, but then it morphed again and it was Oliver he held dead in his arms.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Thea pushed at his knee with her barefoot, jolting him back to wakefulness. "Thought you might need this; double-shot espresso. I would have kissed you," she joked, "but Prince Charming is blond."

Tommy rubbed his eyes. The last thing he needed right now was straight caffeine; he took the offered cup. "Oliver's not my type." He told her, taking a large sip. He definitely had another blond in mind for kissing.

Thea's eyes glinted as she sat on the couch next to him, arm bent across the back as she faced him and watched him drink. "I was thinking of another blond." She read his mind.

"Don't you have school?" he asked her.

"Don't you work now?"

"It's too early, I'll go in later before we open." He told her. Truth was, under unanimous vote of the other members of Team Hood, he'd been voted out of the Arrowcave. His own executive vote had been vetoed. He was currently removed from the equation of Hood-business until he at least got the cast off his wrist. Hopefully, the nightmares stopped within those two weeks. "Are you skipping?" he poked her knee.

"No. I'm at CNRI to do some hours. Wanna come?"

"Come with you while you do your scheduled community hours for the day?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "You can be the assistant to my assistant. It could be fun."

"Fun?" he teased. "And in this scenario, would I be doing your work for you, 'cause you know it doesn't work like that, right?"

"Dang!" Thea snapped her fingers in mock disappointment. "And here I thought I caught you at a vulnerable time." She pressed her finger between his tired brow.

He gave a light chuckle and caught her had with his broken one, giving it a brief squeeze. "You might have if you didn't give me this espresso." His took a sip to reinforce the statement. "How about this instead? I'll drop by this afternoon and take you and Laurel out for lunch. How does that sound?"

"That sound's great!" she smiled happily.

"Then get out of here, Speedy. Time'll pass by faster when you're busy." She nodded and started to leave. "I'm just going to take a nap," he joked, stifling a yawn.

Thea paused in the doorway. "Tommy?"

"Mm?" he set the empty cup on the coffee table.

"Are you okay?"

He looked across at her in surprise. "Of course I am." He stood. "Why would you ask that?"

"It's just..."

"Thea?" he approached and put a hand on her arm. She took a hold of his left hand carefully in both hers. "I'm alright, Thea. It was just a fall. Broken bones heal."

"It's not just that." She shook her head, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "You're not sleeping, you're having nightmares, aren't you? The other week I woke up and I heard you cry out, when I looked into the hall I saw Oliver going into your room."

"It's just the pain meds, Thea. It's nothing to worry about." He tried to reassure her. That had been a bad one, and the reason Oliver had cut him off from the lair. "In a couple weeks, the cast will be off and it'll be like none of it happened. I'll be as right as rain, don't worry." His thumb brushed her cheek. "Now go, before you’re late."

She looked at him for a searching moment before she was forced to accept his words. She gave him a tight hug before she left. Tommy gave an exhausted sigh, carding his fingers through his mussed hair. He needed to take better care.

**...**

When Tommy arrived at the CNRI, he spotted Laurel first at her cubicle and headed her way. "Hey, you ready to go?" he stuffed his right hand into his pocket.

She looked up from her computer and gave him a blank look. "Tommy?" she asked in surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her an amused look. "Brainfart, much? Lunch. Didn't Thea tell you?"

"What? Oh!" she realized. "God, Tommy, I'm sorry. I must have spaced. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Working on another big case?" he asked, stealing the empty chair from a neighbouring cubicle.

"No. It's..." She took a complicated breath. "My mother's in town."

"She is?" Tommy was surprised. "When did that happen?"

"A few days ago." She rested her elbows on the edge of her desk. "I opened the door and she was there. The first thing she said: Sara; she's alive."

"Whoa. What?" he sat back in shock.

"Trust me, I was ready to call the hospital myself." Laurel promised. "But she had this file and this picture," Laurel showed him the photo. "I went to my dad seeing if he could convince her to let it go like before, that Sara died—but she managed to convince him to help her instead! I’m losing it, Tommy."

"That's heavy, Laurel." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If you wanted to talk with someone, you know you can call me."

"I know, I know. It's just... stupid." She shook her head. "She's even got _me_ hoping."

"It's not stupid." He told her. "I understand that hope, I had that hope. The only difference is... my hope was answered with a miracle. I'm sorry, Laurel."

"I'm waiting on a call." Laurel inhaled deeply, shaking her head as she wiped at her tearing eyes. "There's Thea. I thought you said we were having lunch?" she teased in subject change.

He gave her a soft smile. "I always keep my promises."

**X**

Lunch had gone interesting. Apparently Thea was sort of dating someone. Oliver obviously didn't know about it, otherwise the guy would be walking around, growling like a bear. Tommy definitely was not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole and be the one to tell him.

His phone had been going off since he arrived a Verdant, and now that he actually checked it, it wasn't good news. He knew he was 'banned' from the lair right now, but he quickly punched in the code and went downstairs.

"Please tell me you guys are dealing with this," he said, his phone held up. "Some guy just kidnapped the DA and is broadcasting it!"

"They're working on it," Diggle informed him quietly, nodding at Felicity who was rapid-firing directions to Oliver over the open comm.

"How is that possible?" Felicity cried in dismay.

" _Find it, now, Felicity_!" Oliver's voice barked over comms. " _Felicity_?"

Felicity swallowed. She whispered, "He's dead, Oliver."

"Felicity?" Tommy asked gently.

Felicity turned in her chair, sniffling. "Tommy, what are you doing here?"

"The real question is: are you okay?"

She nodded and stood. "I just need a minute." She left up the stairs.

Tommy turned to the other man. "Diggle, what the hell has been going on?"

"Oh," he sighed heavily. "Just a maniac calling himself The Savoir, who kidnaps people, deems them guilty, and broadcasts their murders on the internet."

"Oh, is that all?" Tommy said sarcastically. "And Felicity can't just block the broadcast?"

Diggle shook his head. "First thing she tried. We know who the guy is now, why he's doing this. We just don't know where the hell he is. This is his second body already and something tells me that he's not about to stop. The Hood is going to have to do it for him."

Tommy nodded. "I'm going to go check on Felicity." He left up the stairs, but he found another blond instead. "Hey,"

"I can't talk now, Tommy." Oliver told him. "I need to talk to Felicity."

"Stop." Tommy put his cast hand on his chest, halting him. "This is not Felicity's fault."

"Two men are dead already." Oliver said.

"And you don't think she's doing her hardest to stop that right now?" Tommy returned.

Oliver took a deep inhale. "I know, I know. I'm just frustrated. We're having no luck finding this bastard." He carded a hand through his hair.

"So Diggle tells me."

Oliver nodded, then narrowed his eyes at his best-friend. "What are you doing here, Tommy?"

"Don't worry, it's just club work." He said. He paused. "You haven't talked to Laurel, have you?"

"What? I'm kind of busy right now, Tommy."

"Well, I think you should know... Laurel's mom was like me after The Gambit. Having that knowing, that hope that her daughter was still alive somehow, out there somewhere unable to get back home. She still is, actually."

Oliver furrowed his brows. "Why are you telling me this, Tommy?"

"I'm getting there; it'll only take a second. When you came home, it reenergized that hope inside her. And the someone sent her this picture," he showed Oliver his phone. "And she came back to Starling, showed it to Laurel. Laurel showed it to her dad, hoping he'd set her mom straight—but everything went Twilight Zone and now Lance is helping her."

Oliver stared down at the phone, his knuckles white as he held it. "She's dead, Tommy. I saw her die—twice." He shook his head. "As much as I wish it was true, it's just not possible."

"I know," he gently took his phone back. "Laurel made a few calls to the Chinese Embassy. It wasn't Sara. I just thought you should know. Are you going to be okay?"

Oliver just nodded. "I really need to find this guy."

"Then we both need to get back to work." Tommy patted him on the back.

"Tommy?" Oliver turned back. "Thanks for telling me."

"Sure." Tommy was heading back to the main floor when he encountered Felicity heading back from the bathrooms. "Hey."

"Hi." She paused in front of him.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Once we find this guy I will be," she said with determination in the same mindset as Oliver.

He gave a small smile. "If anyone can, I'm sure it's you." He squeezed her hand encouragingly. "Oliver couldn't do it without you."

**X**

"Thea and her... boyfriend," Tommy said as he came down the stairs and grinned at Oliver's grouchy-face, "Are going to be fine. And my party of blond people?" he asked, looking between Oliver and Felicity.

Felicity and Oliver locked eyes for a moment before they turned back to Tommy. "Great," they said.

"That..." Tommy exclaimed, pointing at them, "Was friggin adorable!" he took out his cell phone jokingly and held up, "Okay, now do it all over again, pretty for the camera."

Oliver stepped forward and took the phone. "I don't need videos of the lair popping up on Youtube, Tommy."

"Just Instagram." He said with a straight face.

Felicity snorted in laughter and quickly covered her mouth. "Don't mind me," she cleared in throat and gathered her purse.

"What's this?" Tommy asked, stealing Felicity's computer chair with a grin.

"Hey!" she pouted.

"Felicity pulled that up." Diggle said. "It's an old map of the decommissioned subway line. It runs all through the underneath of the low-rent district of the city."

"Huh."

"Hey, I've seen that before." Oliver realized. "It been right in front of us this entire time!" The others looked at him questioningly. Oliver took out the notebook and handed it to Felicity.

Felicity opened the notebook to the inside cover, leaning over next to Tommy and holding it open next to the monitor. "You're right," she gasped. "I can't believe I didn't see it."

"My dad, The Dark Archer, this 'Undertaking'..." Oliver pointed, "Whatever it is, it's all connected to the Glades."

Felicity handed the list back to Oliver, her hand on the back of the chair. "At least we're getting closer, this will help narrow the field."

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere with it tonight." Diggle said. "It's been a long day, let's go home, get some rest. We'll see about any new ideas in the morning."

"Coming, Tommy?" Felicity questioned.

"Yeah, yeah." Tommy gave a distracted nod as he stared that the map on the monitor with a cocked head. Something was nagging him, but he couldn't pinpoint it. He gave his head a frustrated shake. He pushed from the desk. "Unlike you three, my work day is about to start. Can I get my phone back? I promise the Arrowcave won't end up on SnapChat. Thank you. Goodnight, everyone!" he called as his path diverted from theirs and he headed up the stairs.

He took out his phone and dialled a number he didn't think he would want to call again, not that he really wanted to now, but he didn't see any other choice. Tommy took a deep breath as the line connected.

"Hey, dad. Could we grab some dinner sometime?"

_f_

**aRROW**

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure I like this chapter very much, but tell me what you think. I know I promised I would do something with Sara; it sort I felt like a filler more than anything, so sorry for that. I just really wasn't sure what to do with this episode, plus having managed to put some bits of it in the previous chapter. I think that messed me up a bit with it.
> 
>  **DELTED TEXT:**  
>  He wasn't avoiding the lair, but under a unanimous vote he was taking a spot of personal leave. His executive vote was vetoed by the other council members.  
> x


End file.
